(This is a work of COMPLETE fiction.)
Once upon a time there was a woman who, after some strange
twists and turns, chose a career that she was convinced might make her happy.
She thought, naively, that if her parents had died young
that she in turn would die
young. She decided, after losing
her mother, to find job that she would love. She left law school and become a teacher. (Lucky for HER, it
was a perfect match.)
She never looked back.
She was thrown many a curve ball in her life – and never let it get her down. (She never doubted that a classroom was where she felt most
comfortable, and where she could probably do her best work.) And when life handed her heartbreak, she
smiled through most of it and remembered that each step, each stumble, each
roadblock, each gift and each miracle was a part of her journey. She knew that most people had far greater burdens to carry and that her particular ones were insignificant and too
small to trifle with.
Along her journey she made many choices in her life, and she
was so thankful that one brought her some incredible children. And then,
somewhat later in her life, she realized that she had the power to choose
happiness. And so she did.
And through the latest part of her journey she had the
knowledge deep in her heart that while some things might change, she always –
always had her incredible job in kindergarten.
That is, until today.
She went to work in an amazingly great mood, like she did
every morning; ready to greet the day with a smile and great expectation.
She glanced quickly at her email before the kids arrived and
saw something like this, “Mr. Principal would like to see you in his office
after school. Your union rep
will be with you.”
Because the number of children in this teacher’s building
were dwindling there was a need to remove one teaching position in another
grade. Because none of the 28
classroom teachers volunteered to move to another building, the principal was
forced to make a hard decision.
And he did.
After 23 years of faithful service in the same building-
this particular kindergarten teacher was told that she was moving to another
building. The building and grade were still up in the air, but the move was
not.
Instead of being angry or bitter (Well, she might have been
for a FEW hours) she chose to embrace this left turn with her whole heart. She knew that there were many young
teachers in the building who were amazing, and who she knew were agonizing over
the thought that THEY might be asked to go.
She realized the she was by far more equipped to handle a
shake-up than these fragile young people.
Oh sure, she had taken an incredible left turn in shaking up her OWN life and was just beginning to feel like a real person again, but why NOT have
another life changing event come along? WHY NOT?
And while the teacher shops for a proper thank-you card to
send, she is feeling incredibly blessed.
She might mourn the loss of team members who are more like family than
friends….and she might mourn leaving families she has come to know and love…but
she is celebrating tonight.
She is celebrating the fact that she has been offered
another crazy left-turn, and is looking forward to ANOTHER new adventure in her
life.
(And Bitchy? After hearing the news about this mythical teacher... left her mother a
little, monumental gift. )
And so endeth the lesson.
(But doesn't SOME school near a beach need a teacher? SOMEWHERE?)
